Towel rack



Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES TOWEL RACK Robert F. Davis,

Washington, D. C.

Application March 24, 1936, Serial No. 70,660

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in towel racks and particularlyto the provision of a novel towel rack that may be expeditiously locatedin the most convenient place. The invention 5 further contemplates animprovement in towel racks that will to a large extent prevent towelsfrom slipping from the rack.

. The tendency in modern bathrooms is toward compactness, and thiscoupled with the fact that many of the modern bathrooms have tile walls,makes it diflicult to iind a place where extra towel racks may besatisfactorily located or attached. Of course, towel racks may be setinto the tile, when the tile is placed, or 'later by a tile-setter, butthe average individual often wants to add another towel rack after thebuilding has been iinished and does not want to take the trouble orincur the expense of employing a tile-setter. Even if the walls areplastered and the average individual can attach the towel rack himself,he must mar the finish of the wall and run the risk of cracking theplaster. Furthermore, regardless of how the rack is to be attached thereis always the problem of nding a place for it. In the small, present-daybathrooms this problem is particularly serious for wall space isextremely limited.

The present invention provides an easy solution to all of theseproblems. According to its principles, a towel rack is constructed sothat it may be easily and securely fastened onto the side of a lavatoryor sink. By this arrangement the towels may be supported in the mostconvenient place, no wall space is needed, and the towel rack may bequickly attached or detached without in anyway marring -the appearanceof anything in the bathroom, and without requiring any particular skill.

To still further improve the desirability of the new towel rack, thecross-bar that supports the towel may be so formed that it has, atleast-on its top side, a longitudinally extending, transversely concaveface. Such a face has been found to give the rack a snubbing action uponthe towel and tends to prevent the towel from so readily sliding oli therod. Apparently the two edges of the concave surface, which are somewhathigher than the center, serve to support the towel and the portion ofthe towel between these edges sinks into the concavity, thus causing thetowel to break sharply over the raised edges.

Ordinarily, the new towel rack may be attached to the apron of thelavatory or sink by means of clamps, either spring or screw, fastened tothe end pieces of the rack and passing around under the lower edge ofthe apron. A small pad of rubber, felt, or the like, placed between thetowel rack ends and the apron has been found to make the rack t betterand at the same time to prevent any scratching of the enamel on theapron.

A further understanding of the detailed construction may be had byreference to the following description of an embodiment of theprinciples of this invention and to the appended drawing. In-the.drawing:

Fig. 1 is a. perspective view showing the towel rack attached `to alavatory and supporting a towel;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same towel rack showing the manner ofits attachment to the apron of the lavatory;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken along line 3-3 of Fig.' 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4 4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view showing two alternative forms oftowel-supporting bar.

. As illustrated, the lavatory Il is of the type that has a downwardlyprojecting apron around its edge. 'I'he towel rack consists of a pair ofporcelain end pieces I2 each having a tapered slot in its base. A Uclamp I4 which has a tapered arm. I3 itting within the tapered slot,extends around under the edge of the apron and carries a thumb-screw I5opposite the base of the member I2. Between this base and the enamel ofthe lavatory apron is a pad IB which may be of felt, rubber or any otherequivalent material. There are, of course, two such towel rack endsattached to the apron of the lavatory in the manner describedand betweenthese ends a towelsupport ing bar I1 isfcarried in the usual manner, theends being provided with openings or depressions into which the ends ofthe towel-supporting bar iit.

The shape of the towel-supporting bar in Figs. 1 and 2 may be consideredto be that of a modified triangle, the base being on top and the apexpointing downward. The shape of the triangle is modified by making thebase concave and rounding the corners just enough to avoid sharpness. Inthe modifications shown in Fig. 5, the bar has all of its sides concaveand may either be a three-sided bar I1 or a four-sided bar I8.

While it is to be understood that the embodiment specifically describedand illustrated is distinctly preferred and has a number of advantagesas have already been pointed out, nevertheless, it is Within the scopeof this invention to modify the construction by using an ordinarytowel-supporting bar in the device attached to a lavatory or sink or themanner described, or by using the improved bar in an ordinary towelrack. Furthermore, it is within the scope of this invention to modifythe means by which the towel rack is attached to the lavatory or sinkand this may be done by using spring clamps or even rubber suction cupsinstead of the screw clamps that have been described. The clamps or thesuction cups need notbe fastened to the towel rack ends by means of thetapered slot arrangement shown but may be bolted or otherwise fastenedto the towel rack by any other means. Also, the pad between the towelrack ends and the enamel of the apron may be eliminated, and the towelrack ends may be metal or wood and of any shape that is foundconvenient.

Although the towel rack has been mentioned as applicable to lavatoriesand sinks and particularly as attachable to the apron thereof, it may beattached to bath tubs or stationary laundry tubs or other similarobjects, and in.

some cases it will be necessary or desirable to pass the clamp over theedge of the object tol which it is to be attached instead of around thelower edge of an apron, or to fasten the rack to the outer surface ofthe object by means of suction cups. When suction cups are used, theymay be provided at the factory with a tacky rubber surface covered byholland cloth which can be stripped off before applying. This causes thecups to hold tightly to the surface and yet avoids the necessity forusing a separate adhesive.

I claim:

1. A towel rack suitable for attachment to the apron of a lavatory,bathtub or the like that comprises an elongated towel bar, a supportingmember at each end of said bar for holding the bar and spacing it -fromthe surface to which it isto be attached, and a clamp on each supportingmember positioned so that it may be passed around the edge of the apron,grasp the apron, and hold the supporting member in place thereon, asubstantial portion of the clamp being hidden by the apron when the rackis clamped in place.

2. A towel rack suitable for attachment to the apron of a lavatory,bathtub or the like that comprises an elongated towel bar,'a supportingmember at each end of said bar for holding the bar and spacing it fromthe surface to which it is to be attached, and a screw clamp on eachsupporting member positioned so that it may be passed around the edge ofthe apron, grasp the apron, and hold the supporting member in placethereon, the screw of the screw clamp'being in such a position as to behidden by the apron when the rack is clamped in place.

3. A towel rack as described in claim 1 in which pads are provided oneach of the supporting members of the towel rack to space the towel rackfrom the surface to which it 'is attached.

4. A towel rack suitable for attachment to the apron of a lavatory,bathtub or the like that comprises an elongated towel bar, a supportingmember at each end of said bar for holding the bar and spacing it fromthe surface to which it is to be attached, each of said supportingmembers having a tapered slot therein, and a U- shaped clamp attached toeach of said supporting members by having one end thereof fitted in tosaid tapered slot, said U-shaped clamp having a screw member in the endopposite to that which fits into the tapered.y slot and being positionedso that it may pass around the edge of the apron, grasp the apron andhold the supporting member in place thereon, the screw member beinghidden by the apron when 'the rack is clamped in place.

ROBERT F. DAVIS.

